One Back Down, a Front and Two Sleeves to Go

 A few days ago, I finished knitting the back for this sweater from The Yarn Girls' Guide to Knits for All Seasons, all except the bind off.

When my mother attempted to teach me to knit when I was about ten, she showed me one way to cast on and one way to bind off.

A few years ago, I was one of two illustrators for this book. I did all the illustrations for the cast on section; the other staff illustrator at the time did the bind off section. Before then, I would never have guessed there were so many ways to cast on and bind off. Admittedly, a fair number are largely similar except for maybe a step or two. But still. . . .

Now, my preferred method for casting on is the German Twisted Cast On.

For this sweater, I wanted to find a bind off that was more elastic than the Standard Bind Off my mother had taught me. A quick look at the index led me to the Decrease Bind Off.

I am very pleased with the result.